Persian Empire

539 BC - 330 BCE

Map of Persia

Complete the acronym below by adding 3-4 bullet points and an image that relate to your civilization:

G Government: Sai Reddivari

The form of government Persia had was a monarchy, with one emperor that ruled all of Persia. The government had many officials from previously conquered nations. Unlike many empires and kingdoms of that time, both Darius I and Cyrus the Great, the two most influential emperors that Persia had, were very accepting of the people they conquered. Government of Persia was divided into provinces, lead by governor called satraps. These governors were inspected by Special officials to make sure all was in order. This meant that there were very few rebellions and most everybody was fond of the government, making it easier to rule. Cyrus and Darius both acted as if they were simply the next heir to the throne in the nations that they conquered, instead of acting like a outside conqueror. For example, Darius was known as the King of Egypt and the King of Babylonia, listing these kingdoms separate from Persia showed that conquered people were not just Persian slaves or subjects. Xerxces, the son of Darius, was completely different. He did not allow worship of any gods except for the god of Zoroastrianism, and rejected the title of King of Egypt and King of Babylonia. This lead to many revolts by Egypt and Babylonia. After attempting to defeat Greece in war multiple times and failing, the expansion of Persia came to a close, and instead of going to war and conquering other nations, Xerxes, decided to tax citizens heavily and spend money on building projects, especially in the city of Persepolis. But his harsh treatment hurt him in the long run, as he was assassinated. All though the government was accepting of conquered people and willing to conform to new ideas, they were very quick to stamp out revolts and were harsh in punishment. For example, in Darius's beginning years of rule, he ended 19 rebellions and punished each leader harshly. He also had a humongous sculpture of him constructed 300 feet off the ground on a busy road, depicting him standing on the neck of a defeated foe. Darius was similar to Hammurabi in the sense that he adapted laws from people he had conquered and had one main code of laws for the empire to follow.

King Darius

R: Religion by Alisa

Zoroaster

• · In the Persian Empire, the main religion was Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism was a monotheistic religion that believed in the god Ahura Mazda. Zoroaster believed in Ahura Mazda, and brought his teachings to the Persians. Because it was the main religion of Persia, other religions weren’t allowed.
• · In Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda was thought to only reveal himself to those who where worthy of worshipping. Zoroaster, who had heard these revelations, made a sculpture called the Gathas. The Gathas were 17 hymns that taught the base of the religion. Those hymns were ultimately a part of the Avesta, a collection of Zoroastrian texts that was holy to the Persians.
• · In the Persian religion, the elements earth, wind, fire and water were considered of high value. Although all were important, fire was the most sacred during religious rituals. Because fire held to high value, fire temples were built to honor it. Fire was considered a ‘spiritual goodness’ and it was thought to represent all the good in the universe.

E: Economy: Sai Reddivari


As the empire was so large, it was very hard for every part of the empire to communicate in that time of day. That is why Darius implemented a standard monetary unit (coins) to make trade easier along the empire, even though the nation was using a barter system, exchanging goods and services for one another. Many of the Persian Emperors, especially Darius, worked hard to keep the economy striving by promoting trade, irrigation, and implementing many construction projects. Darius made the laws that rationed taxes very strict, and built many roads to make trade among the empire easier, he ordered the completion of the Egyptian Canal, connecting the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. To make sure there was always enough food for the increasing population, large irrigation projects were ordered and new farming techniques were encouraged. Each satrapy (province) had to pay taxes based on its wealth and resources.

Ancient Persian Coin

A - Arts and Architecture by Alisa

• The Persian Empire was home to some of the most richly diverse art in any empire. The Persians created various treasures through their rugs, pottery, paintings, literature, and music. In their pottery, the Persians illustrated wars and fights and certain animals that were around at the time.

• For their art, the Persians used clay to make their famous pots. In addition, they used various threads that were imported in order to create their gorgeous carpets that still have an influence on how Persian carpets are made today. For their complex architecture, the Persians would import gold and precious gems from Bactria.

• Darius the Great, the leader of Persia, wanted to out-do people with the architecture in his city. Therefore, he built two palace cities named Persepolis and Susa during the Achaemenid period. After Persepolis was built, it replaced the city of Pasargadae as the capital of Persia.

T: Technology by Frank

• The Persians most famous invention or creation, is the first Courier Post, also known as the "Royal Road". This is the first form of hand delivery in the ancient times, and was very helpful in developing a trade and barter system

• This later helped them with aqcuiring resources and certain objects of value that were necessary in everyday life and civilization.
• Another important and huge discovery, was the discovery of the ancient Waterwheel. This helped produce a more productive irrigation system that later became very helpful to plant life and normal life. It supplied an adequate amount of water to help plants grow, and to supply drinking water and cleaning water. The water wheel brought water through buckets up from a source of water, often a river or a lake, and dumped it into a system of pipes that distributed the water across the area where the water is being used.
• Not only did the Ancient Persians supply environmental inventions and progressions in everyday life, but they also provided one of the first forms of art. The Ancient Persians invented the first form of art being shown in rugs. Patterns, designs, and a variety of colors, made up a trend in using unique and special rugs in houses and buildings, whether it be for religious beliefs and purposes, or for personal expression, these rugs were showing up in the Ancient Persian empires before any other and spread across other civilizations across Asia.
• Additionally, the Persians were responsible for the first systematic use of alcohol in Medicine. This supplied a helpfull addition to medicines that helped people in everyday life.
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• The greatest achievement of Sāsānian education was in higher education, particularly as it developed in the Academy of Gondēshāpūr. It ranged in different levels of classes for example medical training, theology, and philosophy.

  Persian Water Wheel

S- Social Classes by Sydney

Classes included:
1. King and his family
2. Priests, Aristocracy, and the Military
3. Traders, Craftsmen, and Peasants
4. Slaves
The king, Cyrus the great, was very respectful even of the people he conquered, and didnt do anything bad to them after they were taken over. Satraps (leaders of various provinces) had a great deal of power in the empire, and they tried to make the economy better by promoting trade and investing in irrigation. The Royal family was an important social unit in society because they had some of the most powerful power in the society.

some ancient Persian soldiers.

Summary of your civilizations achievements: Sai Reddivari

Persian Sculpture

· -Persian Art was well renowned around the world for a long time and still exists today
-Was largest empire in the world for very long time
-Stretched from Egypt to Pakistan, and from Black Sea to the Caspian Sea
-Persians founded Zoroastrianism, one of worlds greatest religions
-Treated all conquered nations with fairness